Travel Tuesday: Quarzsite

    Quartzsite is a unique place. Because of all the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land surrounding it, there is lots of space for RVers to meet up. And meet up they do! In droves! Bunches here, circled wagons there. The Escapees RV Club have several smaller groups called BOF (Birds of a Feather), and this year the Boomers moved to Plamosa Rd where several other Escapee groups meet. This made it easier for us to stay put and visit other groups nearby. This year we decided to meet up with the Christian Fellowship BOF for the first time. But we were also within walking distance of the Boondocker BOF as well as the Boomers BOF. Solos BOF were next to us and we had some fun inviting them to a biscuits and gravy breakfast with a raffle and concert following. We also had a fundraising auction where everything was wrapped and there were only obscure clues as to what you were bidding on. There was a lot of hilarity and it was fun to anticipate what the clues might point to.
     We really enjoyed getting to know many in the group, having potlucks and starting the day with Worship and Bible teaching. It was a treat to have Barb Maxey there for the worship and also a concert. Nancy (on guitar) and I on keyboard got to play with her for worship and that was great fun. She's very encouraging, so instead of feeling intimidated, I learned and grew in my abilities to follow and fill in. Love that!
      We then moved over to Boomerville where I taught another class on Foods That Heal. It got scheduled late, so there were only six, but a perfect size to fit inside the rig out of the wind and cold. I might just keep to small classes since it was easier for me than hauling all my stuff outside.
       Next we moved over for a few days with our Boondocker friends and enjoyed catching up with a few friends we hadn't seen for awhile.

Barb Maxey doing her concert.

My quickly seen recycled jeans leg bag for the auction.

Fabulous Quartzsite sunrise!

Chili Cook-off Soup

Potlucks are always a challenge for someone with food issues. I have learned over the years to bypass much of what is there, scanning for veggies, salad without dressing or something that looks safe. Even then I am cautious. Much easier and safer for me (and my microbiome friends) to just take my own food and focus on being social.

So when the Annual Boomerville Chili Cook-off happened, I just made my chicken soup and took it, pot and all, with me to the potluck. I debated whether to put it on the table or not, but finally decided it would be easier to dish out that way. Since the potluck had already started when I got there, I wasn’t really expecting anyone to be wanting any. Not only were there many pots of chili, but also all kinds of other potluck things to enjoy. But then a couple of friends found out my ‘bone broth soup” was there, they made a beeline for it! There was only a small bowl of it left. Who knew? I'm happy that they enjoyed some good gut-healing soup. Today, one of them came up and said, “I want the recipe for that soup. It was so good!”.

Recipe? What, recipe? You mean I have to write this down? When I make soup and stir fry and a number of dishes, I just put in a bit of this and a little of that, whatever I have on hand. I base what I cook and eat on foods that will heal the gut, and this kind of soup is great for that. Bone broth made from beef, chicken or fish bones--and meat--is full of good things that heal the gut. This link here goes to a website that tells you all the benefits of bone broth. Once you read up on that, you will really be motivated to include this in your diet!

So here is what I think I made (quantities are approximate!):

Drumstick Bone broth soup
5-6 organic chicken drumsticks
1/4 head cabbage shredded, organic
1 cup Broccoli Slaw, organic
1 leek sliced
1 pkg frozen broccoli/cauliflower/carrot mix
1 yellow pepper chopped (has some heat to it, not a bell pepper)
1/2 TBSP celtic sea salt
1 tsp pepper, freshly ground
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar (I forgot this, but usually add it to help pull nutrients from the bones)
water to nearly cover it all

This gets brought to a boil, the pressure cooker lid put on, brought up to where it gets a little bit of pressure, then taken off and wrapped in layers of wool blankets and it sits for 4-6 hours. When we're ready to eat dinner, it's all ready for us! I especially love to do this on traveling day. If you are not traveling in an RV and want to make this, just use a crockpot if you have one. I put into my soups whatever veggies I have at hand. It changes with every batch, but there are some constants: bones, salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar, water and lots of veggies!

the tables of food in the lee of a couple of rig to block the wind

 

Boomerville gets busy

  We left Ehrenberg for Quartzsite on Jan 15th, arriving in Boomerville held at Scaddan Wash. There were a number of rigs already here even though it hadn't officially started. We were #34. It was great fun to be reunited with friends made last year and to meet new ones. Last year there was a total of about 110 or 120 rigs coming and going during the 2 weeks. This year by the official start date we already had nearly that many! The word has gotten out that this is a fun place to be.

   We are only a few days into the activities and already the schedule is filling up. Since I was here early, I was able to get my "The Why and How of Veggie Ferments" class done right away. It was well attended and well received. I enjoyed the feedback and sharing the fermented foods I love so much and have done so much to improve my health and energy. I have had several people express disappointment in missing the class because of something else they were doing, so I may have to see if I can find time on the schedule to do a repeat.
   I have enjoyed a few nights around the campfire and have played my tenor recorder to an appreciative audience. Last night I was able to join in with some ukulele players and we made music together! It's always fun to find other musicians. I anticipate more musical fun.
   We braved the crowds and went in to the Big Tent RV Show today briefly and met a few people we knew. We saw lots of interesting things and bought 4 postcards! Then we got groceries and made it back in time for the announcements at Happy Hour.
   This evening there was a presentation on RV travel in Europe by a guy who takes 6 - 8 small rigs (they call them Caravans in Europe) on tour in several places in Europe. The pictures were beautiful and it made me want to do that. What a fun way to do any European country!

Boomerville and Seahawks

Jerry’s Posting 1-24-15

Demo of emergency exit.

Mac the Fire Guy demonstrating the best way to use fire extinguishers

Day 9 in Quartzsite:
    The week of the RV Show in Quartzsite is very much like "Sturgis for RVers". The population of the town is normally 3,600 but according to the BLM Ranger there are about 850,000 people here during this event! We went to the Big Tent, which has about 300 vendor booths hawking all kinds of RV and non-RV stuff. And yes, we did actually find some cool stuff to buy, including 3 hats, a flagpole system for the RV, some neat-o stretchy lids/covers for kitchen use, and more. There are also hundreds of additional vendors, bars, and temporary stores set up for blocks around (we've probably only walked around half of it). I installed the flagpole on the motorhome (see the pics) and we've got the 2 pennants flying that Linda made. We've also seen a variety of flying machines cruise by, including a dirigible, ultra-lights, and "what-is-that”s.
     Mac the Fire Guy: He came by and put on the "Fire Safety for RVers" class that he teaches. Very informative, covered everything from pros/cons of types of extinguishers, live demos with audience volunteers extinguishing fires (see pics), to demos of volunteers climbing out the escape-window of an RV. Thanks to him, we went home and opened our escape window for the first time to check it out. 

    Last night was the Karaoke and Dance Party by the Boomer Fire Pit. Three hours of Rock n Roll and fun times which included a Conga line, the Chicken Dance, the Hokey Pokey, the Macarena etc. In the pic they're doing the "Y" of YMCA, and Linda is just left of the lady in blue. Not Karaoke solos per se, but multiple-mike singing, so even I was willing to add some bass-line (hope no one did any sound recordings). A few of the couples were impressively good dancers. I think a lot of Ibuprofin is being consumed today by those re-living their teen years.
    By the way, I DID watch the NFC Championship game last weekend. I drove to a sportsbar in a nearby town with 80" screens. When I got there, some Seahawk fans from California saw my "12" shirt and invited me to join them (we took the pic after the Seahawks won). A lot of dejected Packers fans in the place, lol.

           

BOOMERVILLE!

Strawberry lemonade. Yum!

BOOMERVILLE! Current location:  33.649956,-114.151274   No longer an empty part of the desert, it is currently a hive of activity with over 100 RVs of various sizes and types:  The Boomers are a “Birds of a Feather” (BOF) group of the Escapees RV Club. When they have a gathering, they call it Boomerville! We heard about them at Jojoba and were invited to join them here at Quartzsite, AZ. Every year at this time, thousands of RVers flock to Quartzsite to hang out in the desert, shop at the HUGE RV and Recreation Show big tent (this week only), the several swap meets, or the ongoing Rock and Gem shows. It is quite an experience. We had planned to ‘Do Quartzsite’ anyway (“everyone should at least once…”) and check out a few BOF groups who typically gather here. So far we have only been hanging with the Boomers, they are a laid back and fun group and we seem to fit right in. Several of the people we met at Jojoba Hills are here, too, so we have already seen some familiar faces.

    Every day there are different activities that various people volunteer to host or lead. Each day’s activities are written on a white board at “Headquarters” (a pop-up with tables and information) and you can choose to join whichever interests you.  We quickly discovered that no one starves in Boomerville, as Boomers have bountiful potlucks, free pancake breakfasts, and chili cook-offs with all the trimmings.

    4:00 daily is Happy Hour whose main purpose is for everyone to gather to hear announcements, greet newcomers; find out what activities are coming up, or any things that the group needs to know about. Activities have included potlucks, stargazing with someone who knows the names (the stars are spectacular here!), yoga or walking in the morning, “Boondocking 101” where we picked up a few good ideas of how to make resources last longer, TV shows (Downton Abbey) or pictures of travels (Albuquerque Balloon Festival) shown on the side of someone’s RV. The list goes on! I got in on a gathering of crafters, all making things and showing what they were working on. I took my card weaving which was quite a novelty. The lady hosting it has a toy hauler filled with lapidary equipment and thousands of beads! She does beautiful metal and bead/gem work.

Bottling the kombucha in my RV.

   Also a couple of times a week, several people with pickups volunteer to collect everyone’s trash and make a dump-run. Someone else coordinates to have a holding-tank pumping truck come in for those who need it, as well as fresh water refills. This place is like an instant little city where things get taken care of and people look out for each other. It’s fun to talk to experienced RVers and those who have boondocked for years and hear their tricks and tips, some of which we’ve already discovered.

My gallon jars with kombucha SCOBYs in new tea/sugar solution, ready to sit and do its thing.

Newly bottled kombucha.

    It’s not all been desert and socializing. I have also been making kombucha (bottling every 8 - 9 days) as well as kefir (daily) and cultured veggies (every couple of weeks). I am delighted to be able to continue my ferments as we travel. Mainly I’m motivated by wanting to have them always available since I love having some every day and certainly reap the benefits. It has taken a bit of planning and finding space, but it is working. They all seem to like the winter desert.

   We’ve been gone 3 weeks now and it seems like a blink of the eye! Fulltimers have told us that the 10 years they’ve been traveling seem like nothing and that the times goes by so fast. There always seems to be something to do, something to see, another place to visit, people to meet…  

On to Quartzsite

The white dots are hundreds of RVs camped.

Our first glimpse of RVs parked in the desert en masse.

Jerry: I was a little sad to leave the AGM boondocking area, as I've grown to love it here, but the next event is about to start. Every year at this time, Quartzsite Arizona is host to "the world's largest gathering of RVs and RVers". There are numerous events there, but the main RV draw is the Sports, Vacation, and RV Show (Jan 17-25 this year). So we pulled up jacks and hit the road again, leaving California behind and heading into Arizona. Linda drove the truck to do some shopping in Yuma, and I drove the motorhome to Yuma also, with the mission of finding a place to dump tanks, get water and gas. Avoiding the Chevron that charges $20 to dump (robbery), I find a 76 station where it's free. I pull in behind an older motorhome with a Michigan license plate saying "WWII Vet" and strike up a conversation with this older gent. He turns out to be a very nice guy and says he and his wife have been snowbirding to the southwest for 20 years. I tell him I'm on my first snowbird trip and he gives me some good tips, including a free place to stay in Yuma that he uses. The fellowship among RVers, particularly in the southwest, is a real bonus to the lifestyle.      So we hitch the truck back up, and head north on 95 toward Quartzsite. On the way north, everyone is required to stop at a Border Patrol checkpoint. They inquire if it's just the two of us and then wave us on (guess we don't look the type to be transporting illegals). We are now seeing large Saguaro cactus and you know you're REALLY in Arizona now. 

Sunset in "Boomerville"

First night of "Boomerville", catching the sunset.

     Getting close to Quartzsite, we start getting views of hundreds and thousands of RVs spread out over the desert! It's pretty amazing! (in the first pic, all those white objects are RVs). We eventually leave the pavement and drive down a dirt road to join our group of Boomers that will be 50-100 RVs. We get parked and set up in time to notice an AMAZING sunset and I go up on the roof to tilt two of my solar panels up and take pictures while I'm up there.